Our Beliefs

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed in the original writings.

(II Tim. 3:16,17; II Peter 1; 20, 21; Matt 5:18; John 16:12,13)

THE TRUE GOD

We believe that a) there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit whose Name is Jehovah, the maker and supreme ruler of Heaven and earth; b) that He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness; c) that He is worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; d) that in the unity of the God-head there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, e) that they are executing distinct but harmonious offices in the work of redemption.

(Ps. 83:18; Ex. 15:11; Mark 12:30; II Cor. 13:14; John 10:30; John 17:5, 10; Phil. 2:5, 6; Eph. 1:3-14)

THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1;1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 3:24, 25; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Pet 1:3-5)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of representative, intercessor and advocate. (Acts 1:9, 10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1,2)

THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; and, that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.

(John 16:8-11; II Cor. 3:6; I Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13, 14)

We believe that He teaches and guides believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege of and command to all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.

(John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Eph. 5:18)

THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’ sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

(Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:22,23, 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12)

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.

(Eph. 2:8-10; John1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Pet.1:18,19)

THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS

We believe that all redeemed (once saved) are kept by god’s power and thus secure in Christ forever.

(John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38, 39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1;5)

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word; which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.

(Rom. 12:13,14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER

We believe that every saved person possess two natures, with provision made for victory over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.

(Rom. 6:13; I Pet. 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9)

SEPARATION

We Believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God.

(II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1,2, 14:13; John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1)

MISSIONS

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scripture and to seek and proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.

(Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19,20)

THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelist, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and working of sign miracles gradually ceased when the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.

(I Cor. 12:4-11; II Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12)

We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; I John 14,15)

THE CHURCH

We believe that the true church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons. (Eph. 1;22,23,25-27; I Cor. 12:12-14 II Cor. 11;2)

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures; and, that it is a body of regenerated, baptized believers organized independent and self-governing, associated for worship service and spreading of the gospel, under headship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; I Tim. 1:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:41,42; I Cor. 1:2)

ORDINANCES

We believe that the ordinance of baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; setting forth the essential facts in redemption – the death and resurrection of Christ. (Acts 8:26-39; John 3:23)

We believe that communion at the Lord’s Table is a privilege accorded to all believers, in commemoration of our Lord’s death until He comes, and should always be preceded by self-examination. (I Cor.11:23-28)

THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.

(Job 1;6,7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11,25,41; Rev. 20:10)

THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST

We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom.

(I Thes. 4:12-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thes. 1;10, 5;9; Rev. 3:20)

THE ETERNAL STATE

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28,29, 11:25,26; Rev. 20:5,6,12,13)

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are united to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23, 3:21; I Thes. 4:16,17)

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in the conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with the soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.

(Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thes. 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15)

CIVIL GOVERNMENT

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 13:1-7; I Tim. 2:1-3; Acts 5:29, 4:19,20; Matt. 22:21)

STATEMENT ON MARRIAGE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.)

We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.

(1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.)

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.

(Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.)

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Calvary Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Calvary Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality.

(Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22.)

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

(Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.)

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Calvary Baptist Church.